BIO- ANUPAM

If I summarise the last ten years of my art-practice, I call myself, with no hesitation and irony, as a propagandist. Throughout this period, I have been closely associated with various socio-political movements in my country. I have witnessed and experienced various types of violence and repression, unfolding in several contexts in multiple hues and contradictory forms.

In my understanding, none of them can be simply relegated to the pre-existing/pre-conceived categories. Moreover, I feel that political-art must shed its conventional approaches, to be affectively charged by new forms of political-subjectivization. Not being a journalistic-reportage or mere aestheticized-representation of surrounding events, political-art in my understanding takes shape as a propaganda-praxis in its own aesthetic terms, responding to the call of the revolting masses. Theoretically, there may be the possibility to resolve the representational crisis in the propagation of subaltern discourse but unlike materiality, I can’t transcend the pragmatic-complexities of contemporary violent-reality. Therefore, identifying the limit of representation or dismantling the discourse of my practice allows me to explore representational-impossibility that works as a reflecting-mirror of dialectical-materialism.

As a practitioner of visual propaganda making where different media and approaches coalesce into a discursive platform; and the work of art does not remain confined to a frame, rather becomes a space for the viewer and other art-practitioners to share their experiences. My practice extends to drawing, painting, photography, graphic/poetry novel, poster, banner, graffiti, raw video documentation, diary, journalistic documentation, festoon, articles, magazines, installation, performance and articulate these all as final objects rather everyday notes into a different size.

My work has been informed by a theoretical and ground-level engagement, thus allowing me to venture into several terrains simultaneously. My inquiry is premised on the belief that every subject is built upon contradictions that multiply in the society to form the discourse, and my attempt is to identify such contradictions in order to dismantle the hegemony of the discourse. Therefore, my visual practice is not limited to image-making alone, but also juxtaposes documents, different materials that are sometimes very specific to the subject, and what can be termed as anti-referential, illegal witnesses. Through such engagements in varied locations and contexts, I have been confronted by the impossibility of representation.

ANUPAM (1985, India)

Permanent address: 189/18 no. Kankpul; Post Office- Kankpul; District- 24 PGS (N); Pin- 743272, West Bengal, India.

Residential Address: 91 Wand Street, LE4 5BW, Leicester, UK.

Mobile no: +91 9717818197 (India), +44 7776738683 (UK)

Email: anupamerid@gmail.com

Instagram: @burningbarricade

Gallery: Project 88, Mumbai, India.

Educational Qualification:

•Fine Art MA; De Montfort University, Leicester, UK (pursuing 2019/2020)

•MA in Visual Arts; Ambedkar University Delhi; New Delhi; India, 2014-2016.

•Bachelor in Fine Arts from Bengal Fine Arts College affiliated to Indira Kala Sangeet Vishwavidyalaya, Khairagarh (Chhattisgarh), India, 2004-2008.

Scholarship & Award:

•Charles Wallace long term scholarship, for 2019-2020, one-year MA in Fine art at De Montfort University, Leicester, UK.

•Ambedkar University Delhi; Merit Scholarship, Fee Waiver, Student Welfare Fund in all four semesters from 2014-2016.

•Rotary Club of Calcutta, West Bengal, student grant for education 2007.

•FICA Emerging Artist Award, given by Foundation for Indian Contemporary Art collaboration with Pro Helvetia – Swiss Arts Council, 2018.

Publication (project documentation/ paintings/ illustrations):

http://anupamroylive.blogspot.in

http://anupam-stability.blogspot.in

http://www.artslant.com/global/artists/show/66899-anupam-roy

http://amudiscussionforum.blogspot.in/2011/03/paintings-by-anupam-roy.html

Solo Show:

•“De-Notified Land”, Project 88, Mumbai, 14th March to 4th May 2019.

•“Labyrinth” reflections on 21st-century politics. BC Gallery, Fort Kochi, Kerala, 10-25th December 2017.

•“Migratory Bird” at Tagore Hall, University of Delhi, New Delhi and at School of Arts & Aesthetics and SIS Building, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, 2010.

International Participation:

•Open Studio, Switzerland Residency, Supported by Pro Helvetia, Swiss Council, Part of Emerging Artist Award, 27th June 2019.

•Selected in New Museum Triennale 2018, “Songs for Sabotage”, Organized by New Museum, New York. Start from 13th February to 23rd May 2018.

•Historical Materialism, Montreal, Organized by Red Wedge, curated by Adam Turl, May 2018.

Exhibitions (Group Show):

' Speculations On A New World Order' an online group show Curated by Anushka Rajendran, Shrine Empire Gallery, Delhi, April 16, 2020- May 20, 2020.
‘Critical Constellations’, organized by Foundation for Indian Contemporary Art (FICA), Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, Delhi, 31st Jan to 9th Feb 2019.
Imagining Forest, curated by Avani Sethi & V. Divakar, Conflictorium, Ahmedabad, July 2018.
Bevaru/ In sweat and thought, Venkatappa Art Gallery, Bangalore, May 2018.
Situation comics 2 (Part of C13: AN EXHIBITION, A PROPOSITION, A PLAYGROUND, A HOUSE), 2017.
Ambedkar University annual show, 2015, 16.
Annual Show, National Art Exhibition at Birla Academy Art & Culture, 2013.
86th Annual All India Art Exhibition, IFACS, New Delhi, 2012.
Bengal Art Show, at Indian Habitat Centre, New Delhi, 2010 (open space, Amphitheatre), 2011 (Visual art Gallery).
Faith & Fantasy II at Indian Fine Arts and Craft Society, New Delhi, 2010.
College Annual Show (BFA) at the Academy of Fine Arts, Kolkata, India, 2009, 2008 & 2007.
Annual Show at Kolkata Information Centre, NANDAN, Kolkata, 2007.

Presentations attended:

Historical Materialism London conference, Presentation on "Representational Impossibility", SOAS, London, November 2019.
Presentation and discussion on propaganda and counterpropaganda, organized by AISA HCU unit, Hyderabad, 10th September 2019.
‘Witnessing Body’, a work presentation and discussion, invited by HSLU, Lucerne, Switzerland, 3rd June 2019.
‘The Impossibility of representation and the real image’ a talk organized by #The Dialogue, Stiftung Bartels Foundation, Basel, 19th June 2019.
•Participate and presenting my practice in ‘De-text’, organized by philosophy unbound, with Paribartana Mohanty and Akansha Rastogi, 2018.

Residencies/Workshops:

•Switzerland Residency, Supported by Pro Helvetia, Swiss Council, Part of FICA Emerging Artist Award, 2nd April to 30th June, Switzerland, 2019.

•A Beautiful Contract: An Untold Truth of mind, a residency program at Banipur Art Society and Institute of Culture, West Bengal. July 2018.

•Peers Share, Giving a presentation on my practice and attended a workshop on proposal writing conducted by Annapurna Garimala, Khoj, Delhi, 2018.

•Participate and presenting my practice in De-text, organized by philosophy unbound, 2018.

•AIFACS 3 days art camp, 2018, Delhi.

•“Other voices, other cities” workshop conducted by Sue Williamson South Africa based artist and activist, Prameya Art Foundation,2017.

•Poster Workshop on politics, privatization and communal factor in education organized by All India Forum for Right to Education (AIFRE), Bhopal, 2014.

•National Workshop cum residency program in Jodhpur, 2013; also curates two final display in Jodhpur (2013) and Kolkata (2014); called ‘Journey of Art’ organized by Bodhi Tree MONASTERY of Art.

•Workshop & Art Exhibition titled Face India International Humanism Recovery Festival 2011, IFACS, 2011.

•Annual Art Workshop, College of Visual Art, GARIA, West Bengal, 2008.

Work experience:

Locust Review an international print and online journal, published in America, working as part of the editorial board, continuing from 2020.
In Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, Saket, New Delhi, working for a 1-year project on documentation and archiving for their entire art collection. Starts from October 2016 to November 2017.
Conducted a poster workshop in Ambedkar university (2018 & 2019), “POW WOW’; with students of Pearl Academy, Noida; in campus(2016,2017), JNU (2014) and IP college on women day, Delhi(2013).
Wrote articles on Political art in Bengali; Ganosanskriti Potrika (Monthly cultural Magazine); West Bengal; Published in January and March issue; 2016.
Book cover design for Veenit Kumar’s book called “Mandi Mein Media” 2013. Published in 2014 book fair Delhi.
As a freelance Art Designer for the magazine Rang Prasang, special issue on Rabindranath Tagore, National School of Drama (NSD), Delhi, 2011.
As a freelance illustrator working with the Hindi magazine Tehelka, in several issues like “Sahitya Ke Samant”, 2011, Delhi.
As a freelance illustrator worked in Children Books Magazines called Chakmak and Sandarv, publisher ‘Eklavya’, 2011, Bhopal.
Work as an illustrator, conceptualizer and designer worked in the ad agency RVW 720 from November’2008 – September’2009.
Illustrated book covers, cartoons, posters and published paintings and drawings for various Weekly or monthly political magazines and newspaper like RED Wedge (Canada), Liberation (Shakkarpur, Delhi), Aadhi Zamin (Banaras), Janmat (Allahabad), Protibidhan (Kolkata), Woman Voice (Delhi), Ganosanskriti (West Bengal), Deshobroti (West Bengal), Amardesh (West Bengal) and literature-based little magazine like Cracker (24pgs North, West Bengal), Nabankur (Kolkata) and other little magazines from Bengal like Sutorang, Baharampur Potrika, Kabil Nama etc... 2008-2019.

Contact Me

anupam.propaganda@gmail.com

+44 7776738683

BIO- ANUPAM

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